Readers respond to "Girl Fight"

Sexy and Dangerous

These ladies scare me ("Girl Fight," 10/1/08). Because they are very attractive and could easily stomp my body into a thin gelatin reminiscent of Spam lube.

I hope I never try to clumsily pick any of them up, as I enjoy keeping my testicles on the outside of my body.

VitajexMinneapolis

Keep sending 'em, we'll keep printing 'em

Thanks for your vigorous section of letters to the editor. Too many newspapers have weakened or entirely discontinued their letters. This, as if their writings were holy script which should not be sullied by criticism from us, "the great unwashed." Your healthy letters section demonstrates your willingness to view and to publish readers' responses: truly democracy in action.

Leo Shatin, Ph.D.

Plymouth

Keith Ellison was in the trenches, that's where

Contrary to Carol Logie's assertion in her "elegant" October 1 letter to the editor ("Where Was Keith Ellison?"), Congressman Ellison was very involved in defending the rights of all Minnesotans to demonstrate peacefully during the Republican National Convention. In fact, Congressman Ellison was instrumental in helping Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman and her staff to be released from police custody. He also dealt directly with several city officials, taking them to task for the overreaction of some in their police force.

Logie's letter is typical of those of us on the left; just because we don't see our frontline voices of courage with our own eyes, we are ready to condemn them for perceived inaction. Keith will continue to work tirelessly for the four objectives you sent him to Congress to do: peace in Iraq, economic prosperity for working families, environmental sustainability, and civil and human rights.

Stop being a Nader Hater

Concerning Allen Kleckner's familiar rant that Ralph Nader put Bush in the White House (Letters, 10/1/08), first, the math is wrong. A vote for Ralph removes that vote from each opposing candidate's total. Neither has a numerical advantage over the other from that action. Read that over a few times until you get it. A protest vote for McCain, such as threatened by some Hillary supporters, would change the math in McCain's favor.

Second, pleading for a vote for the lesser of two evils is absolutely the most pathetic argument for a candidate there can be. You are going to have to do much better than that to secure a vote for...well, you didn't even say for whom.

Third, the assumption that people who vote for Ralph would have voted for a Democrat has been proven false again and again.

Fourth, there is a rich and continuing history of parties other than the Dems or GOP transforming cities, regions, and this nation. Isn't the rest of the name of one state party "Farm and Labor?"

Then we have the disgusting slur that Ralph is "self-aggrandizing, narcissistic," etc. How does this stack up with the author's own final sentence that Ralph's actions have "given him a legacy to be proud of"?

Michael EastinLake City

So what if a nuke plant operator has a fake degree?

I believe it is prudent for the world to know about decisions associated with public safety at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant in Kewaunee, Wisconsin (Blotter, 9/24/08). Two months ago, various online blogs reported a story regarding the purchasing of degrees from a diploma mill in Spokane, Washington. There was much speculation and distortion within these blogs and within the subsequent articles. The complete information was never reported factually and thus resulted in public outcry and negative press for the corporation and industry associated with the story, not to mention the individual involved. It is my belief that solely because of this poor publicity, the corporation's hand was forced into termination of employment of a 19-year veteran in the industry (19 years in that very plant), with a safe operating history; a man that, while showing severe naiveté in trying to get something for just a bit more than nothing, never put the public's safety at risk.

But what was he trying to get for only a bit more than nothing? The degrees were not used to deceive his employers to get a job or keep his position. The nuclear industry has its own intensive testing for those purposes. Instead, the "degrees" were a way for him to get recognition of the expertise he has gained after 19 years in the industry in addition to the six years spent serving our country's Navy in the same field of study.

Simply put, the purchased "degrees" did not in any way affect whether this man was qualified to do his job, nor did it affect the way he performed on the job. Yet, due to prosecution by the media and bloggers, he will never be in that industry again.